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I came across the following sentence as an example sentence for the grammar
point つつある in 新完全マスター文法N2:

> この会社は現在発展しつつあり、将来が期待される。

My attempted translation is

> As this company continues to develop, "the future is expected" (?)

This literal translation of the 将来が期待される part didn't make sense to me. I know
that 期待 means "expectations", but you would expect a particular outcome,
result or state, not just "the future" in general, for example:

> **よい** 結果を期待している。

I looked up the expression 将来が期待される and [it seems to
mean](https://ja.hinative.com/questions/21061898) "promising, being expected
to have a good future". But I don't understand where this "good, promising"
part comes from. Does it come from 将来, from 期待, or is it just an idiomatic
expression?

Additionally, I am confused by the use of the passive 将来が期待される instead of
将来を期待する. Is the company itself expecting a promising future or is it a general
expectation by the public?


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meaning idioms
Is 「将来が期待される」 idiomatic? Why does it mean "promising future"? Why is the passive form used in the sentence at issue?


将来が期待される is an idiomatic expression, as a whole, meaning _promising_. It can
be used in active voice as given in
[大辞泉](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/word/%E5%B0%86%E6%9D%A5/). The passive can
be understood as _by the public_ as you think. Or you can think the される
carries potential meaning (将来が期待できる is possible as well).

> １ 《将 (まさ) に来 (きた) らんとする時の意》これから先。未来。前途。副詞的にも用いる。「―の日本」 **「―を期待する」**
> 「―のある若者」「―医者になりたい」

The literal translation _future is expected_ is odd possibly because of the
subtle difference in usage/meaning between 将来/期待する and future/expect.

将来 is, as mentioned in the above definition, literally _(what is) yet to come_
and 期待する often carries a meaning of _hope_ as suggested in [this
entry](https://dictionary.goo.ne.jp/word/en/%E6%9C%9F%E5%BE%85%E3%81%99%E3%82%8B/#je-16256).
As for _to expect_ , I suppose it can carry _hoping_ , but it does not apply
to _future is expected_ very much.

Overall winding 将来を期待する a bit, it literally means _to have a high expectation
for what is yet to come/future development_ , which leads to _promising_ from
the perspective of the person who has the expectation.


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期待する itself is more positive than neutral. It's like saying you look forward
to having or seeing something rather than just saying you expect to have or
see something.

将来 here refers to the future state of the company, not the future as a general
time frame.

The passive is because the subject of 期待する is no one in particular but people
in general. 将来を期待する or 期待している here would mean the author is stating their own
expectations. I would say this passive is similar to _se_ in Spanish as in _se
espera que tenga un buen futuro_. It's not the same as _espero que tenga un
buen futuro,_ right?

You can also say 将来が期待できる but it still sounds more subjective and would be
taken as the author's opinion. 期待される deliberately avoids saying who is the one
expecting.


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